Sources: Islamists seize Japanese, French nationals in Algeria

Islamist militants seized five Japanese nationals and a French citizen from an oil facility in southern Algeria on Wednesday, local and diplomatic sources said.

The foreigners were taken from the facility at In Amenas in the morning. Algerian troops had mounted an operation to rescue the hostages, a local source told Reuters. TV Ennahar reported that a security agent had been killed but it did not give his nationality. (Reuters)